One Power Tool Started Replacing Hours of Shower Scrubbing
Soap scum builds up so slowly that many homeowners stop noticing it until the shower glass turns cloudy. When Reddit user u/Sierra93 shared a before-and-after in r/CleaningTips, one detail stood out. Instead of spending hours with a sponge, the shower door was cleaned with a scrub brush attached to a cordless drill.
The cleaning solution stayed simple: equal parts water and vinegar, a small amount of dish soap, and two cleaning sessions. The biggest difference came from the rotating brush, which lifted months of soap residue from the glass with far less effort than hand scrubbing alone.
Cloudy Glass Hid the Tile Behind It
Before cleaning, the shower door looked almost frosted. Soap scum and mineral deposits covered most of the glass, making the tile inside difficult to see. The buildup spread across nearly the entire panel instead of collecting in a few spots.
Many commenters said they reached the same point before realizing standard glass cleaner was no longer enough to remove the thick layer.
A Drill Brush Did Most of the Work
The homeowner sprayed the glass with equal parts water and vinegar mixed with a small amount of dish soap, then scrubbed with a brush attached to a cordless drill. According to the post, the process took two rounds before reaching the final result.
The spinning brush applied steady pressure across the surface, helping lift buildup that often remains after cleaning by hand.
“Better Than It Was” Became the Goal
The homeowner titled the post, “It’s not perfect but it’s better than it was,” and many Reddit users agreed. Rather than chasing perfect clarity, commenters focused on how much soap scum had disappeared.
Others shared similar routines, with one commenter recommending equal parts vinegar and dish soap left on the glass for about ten minutes before wiping and rinsing. Several agreed the drill brush was the biggest time saver.
Start With the Least Aggressive Method
The drill brush produced the biggest transformation, but it is not the only approach. Many Reddit users reported good results with equal parts vinegar and dish soap, allowing the solution to sit before scrubbing with a soft sponge. If mineral deposits remain, repeating the process often works better than switching to harsher chemicals.
The before-and-after photos serve as a reminder that cloudy shower glass is often a buildup problem, not a permanent one. Before replacing a shower door, it may be worth trying a deep cleaning first.
Iamge credits go to reddit user u/Sierra93